Almost half of NZ homes have a computer

Forty-seven per cent of New Zealand households now have a home computer, up from the 32 per cent that had one in 1997/98.

Fifty-eight per cent of New Zealand households now have at least one mobile phone, up from the 18 per cent that owned one in 1997/98.

The 2000/01 Household Economic Survey results from Statistics New Zealand, released today, show computer and mobile phone ownership rates increase with income.

Seventy-six per cent of households with annual income above $74,000 have a home computer, compared with 21 per cent of households with income below $20,000.

Eighty-five per cent of households with income above $74,000 have at least one mobile phone while only 31 per cent of households with income below $20,000 have one.